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Show Sheen Haters Unite! A Braider's Rant

Feb. 18, 2009, 12:13 PM

I know I'm not the only one that hates Show Sheen! I can't stand the feel, but what's more, I braided a horse for a friend a few weeks ago and while I specifically instructed her not to use any more Show Sheen on the mane when I pulled it a week prior, I don't think she could help herself. I had to bust out the hairspray just to get a grip on the mane, and I NEVER do that.

I don't use products like that on my guys...I just don't like the artificial feel. I prefer the old fashioned curry-and-brush for a good shine, and it doesn't leave a slippery, product-y feel.

So please... I beg of you. Don't torture the braider. Put the Show Sheen down and WALK AWAY!

Comment

I had a "rival" rider in the barn where I grew up riding out of...she and I were the only two in a big barn riding the same levels against each other. Since we were polar opposites in personality and riding styles, we really did not like each other. Although admittedly we were both heavily into practical jokes and at least could het a good laugh out of the practical jokes we played on each other...even though they were pretty rotten.
One of her faves was to show sheen my tack! Needless to say it made riding pretty d*mned slippery, but since we both rode jumpers we weren't in the tack that often. (we also did things like color hairspraying each others' horses before a class and I tipped her over in a port-o-potty once)
Since then I've never been a huge fan of show sheen...but since I've also ridden jumpers most of my riding life I've rarely had to have a braided horse unless it was a special class. And then I kept my mare roached because I can't braid worth crap...I can see where a Show Sheened man would be impossible to braid. Do folks still use braider's wax? A lot of braiders back then used a waxy product to make braids easier and tighter and keep the wispies away.
Now the only time I use Show Sheen is to coat white socks/stockings on horses. Seems to keep the stains away a little better.

You jump in the saddle,
Hold onto the bridle!
Jump in the line!
...Belefonte

Comment

A girl at my barn braids, and she was pissed the morning she came out to braid a horse, only to find the rider had Show Sheened his mane AND brushed it on the wrong side of his neck (while it was wet). I told her she should have refused to braid it.. what kind of idiot Show Sheens AND brushes the mane on the wrong side of the neck 12 hours before they want it braided??

Comment

My husband loves Show Sheen because it helps get the 18 gozzillion cockle burrs out of his horse's mane and tail. The horse has a real talent for finding and getting cockle burrs in his very abundent mane and tail. Hubby also uses it to sort of slick the mane down so it doesn't look so bushy.

Comment

A Boarder at our barn has a Morgan with a very l-o-n-g full mane.
This is the most primped and preened horse I have ever seen.
This woman puts show sheen on the mare's mane and tail every day. Sometimes twice.

Last summer before a clinic she asked me to do a running braid for her and I told her she'd have to lay off the show sheen for a week or else I'd go into the arena, get some dirt and rub it through the mane.
I thought she was going to pass out....

Comment

I must be lacking in some level of discrimination, because I can't tell the difference between any of these products. I certainly don't put it in a horse's mane, though, if I want to braid! For tails, though, it's great--and so are all those other products out there. I get whatever's on sale or offers free shipping.

Quik-Braid, however, is your friend if a mane is too clean, too slick, or full of slippery product.

Comment

I must be lacking in some level of discrimination, because I can't tell the difference between any of these products. I certainly don't put it in a horse's mane, though, if I want to braid! For tails, though, it's great--and so are all those other products out there. I get whatever's on sale or offers free shipping.

Quik-Braid, however, is your friend if a mane is too clean, too slick, or full of slippery product.

I'm a groom and I spend a lot of quality time buried under horse hair and in contact with these types of products. Believe me, I can tell a difference I guess for someone who doesn't groom for horse shows or just has a few horses at home it doesn't matter, but I wouldn't be caught dead using the stuff personally.

I vote for a new clique - "Show Sheen Sucks!" - LOL. I despise the stuff. I can't believe people still use it when there is so many far better products out there. There are no shortcuts in horse care, and you will be sorry if you use the stuff. Ick!

Comment

I'm a groom and I spend a lot of quality time buried under horse hair and in contact with these types of products. Believe me, I can tell a difference I guess for someone who doesn't groom for horse shows or just has a few horses at home it doesn't matter, but I wouldn't be caught dead using the stuff personally.

I vote for a new clique - "Show Sheen Sucks!" - LOL. I despise the stuff. I can't believe people still use it when there is so many far better products out there. There are no shortcuts in horse care, and you will be sorry if you use the stuff. Ick!

Comment

I don't like Show Sheen at all. To me it makes the hair feel plastic-y and dry/brittle or just fake.

I love EQyss Survivor. The hair feels conditioned, soft, it detangles or de-burrs easily and it makes the hair shiny and gorgeous. It may seem expensive to buy but the bottle lasts a long time because you only need a nickel sized amount to do a whole tail.

Comment

I don't like Show Sheen at all. To me it makes the hair feel plastic-y and dry/brittle or just fake.

Wouldn't want to braid with this stuff on BUT..GOTTA TELL YOU. My eight yr. old appy mare has never had more than four or five inches of mane. It had that "plastic" feeling, broke off easily and usually was standing straight up. I tried all the horse products and nothing. I've been using Alberto vo5 and the difference is unbelievable. Her mane is longer than it's ever been and lying down even over her cowlick!! The hair has a much softer, silkier feel. The first day it has a slightly greasy feel but not the next. Had to share.

You know why cowboys don't like Appaloosas?" - Answer: Because to train a horse, you have to be smarter than it is.

Comment

I've got a horse with the biggest bush of a tail and getting it untangled for a show (I am the braider) is always a challenge. So far about the best plan is the weekend before the show get tail thoroughly wet. add shampoo to get down to the tail bone (so you don't have those filthy dander hairs making your braided tail look gross) then add cheap creme rinse with the tail still soapy, it helps the creme rinse penetrate a thick tail, 'struth. Rinse thoroughly, and then rinse again. If you think you have rinsed enough, give it one more time.

Add vetrolin spray. At that point the tail usually stays tangle free with normal care and rinsing for at least a week when it get braided, but any slipperyness is gone (assuming of course your horse doesn't find a mud wallow).

I've not seen the point of putting anything on the mane other than soap and a really good rinse job, but when the horses are just clipped I usually hit them up with vetrolin spray every day to help the coat condition a little bit and its never bothered me to braid a mane that surely must have some vetrolin spray in it.

Worse than show sheen though? MTG. I stood up on the ladder, took a look at this hony's uber thick, blunt cut mane (they didn't do but a few A shows a year), cried a bit, and then thought the only way I was going to get through this mane was if I soaked it extra good. So only after I put a huge spongeful of water on it, got it as wet as if he had been on the washrack, did I notice the vile odor wafting upward. Oh great, as if a snootful of MTG isn't enough to ruin your night, turns out the stuff is as slick as goose sh*t when it is wet.